Why do grapes and cherry pits strike fear into the hearts of Florida’s supermarket managers? Because when grapes or cherries are dropped on a supermarket floor, there is always a risk for slips and falls.

Some stores like D’Agostino in New York City, are now fully carpeted. The New York grocery store chain has 18 Manhattan locations now lined with a vinyl-backed commercial nylon broadloom carpet. The carpet is not for luxury but rather to lower the instances of slip, trips and falls.

Carpeting in supermarkets and shopping malls may be unusual, but not unheard of. In Wisconsin, Sendik’s Food Markets has used carpeting for decades to prevent customer injuries. The most common type of supermarket accident occurs when glass containers shatter on hard floors. Since D’Agostino started using carpet, their stores have had no slip-and-fall accidents.

As a Miami grocery store injury lawyer I hope that local super markets like Publix and Winn-Dixie will consider installing carpeting to lower the risk of slip and fall injuries.